


Hearts of the Hunted

by JustAndrea



Series: Draxum and the Fam [2]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Arguing, Dentistry, Draxum being protective, Gen, Humans suck and there's a reason Draxum still sorta hates them, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Death, Rants, as well as fairly angsty but he has a good reason, let me know if there's anything else that needs tagging, mentions of fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25019413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Despite all the progress Draxum has made in tolerating humans, he is still occasionally (painfully) reminded of why he hated them in the first place. Thankfully, he ends up having the company of a certain rat-man that he’s able to vent to.
Relationships: Baron Draxum & Splinter (TMNT), Baron Draxum & Splinter | Lou Jitsu
Series: Draxum and the Fam [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044981
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	Hearts of the Hunted

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, this took forever to finish. But I got this idea shortly after ‘Hidden City’s Most Wanted’, and I really wanted to try and write it out. So, hope you guys enjoy

It wasn’t easy for Draxum to climb down a metal ladder, thanks to his hooves, but with a stead pace and a good grip, he managed to make it down into the sewers.

“Ugh,” he grumbled, lifting his skirt up a bit as he walked down the tunnel. The pipe seemed pretty dry, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “How they manage to live down here is beyond me...” Though, he supposed for a rat, there weren’t many options for jobs or apartments. Draxum had been lucky in that sense, that his hooves and ears were easy enough to hide or be ignored by mostly uncaring humans.

Soon enough, Draxum saw light, and within seconds he was in the atrium of the Hamato-Jitsu’s underground home. It had taken months for the family to trust him enough to reveal the location of their home, and now he was finally here - and for yet another family dinner, no less. Mikey’s idea (of course).

Draxum glanced around, briefly admiring the art and the fairy lights that decorated the walls, and raising an eyebrow at the curved and flat staircase. ...Well, it couldn’t exactly be a staircase if there were no stairs. But if the boys could simply hop up to the second level, then what was the point of the stairless staircases? “A training exercise in endurance and stamina, perhaps?”

“It is called a skate ramp.” Draxum looked up towards a doorway with flags hanging over it. Splinter was staring back at him, smirking a little. “I’m sure the boys will show you how it works after supper.”

“Hmph... Where are those turtles, anyway?” Draxum asked, crossing his arms and causing the tote he had brought with him to bounce slightly.

“Out getting our dessert.” April wasn’t able to join them that night, due to having already having plans with her parents, but had still helped them out by picking up the ice-cream cake for them, making it easier for the Turtles to grab it and go without the need for disguises. “...And what did you bring?”

“Just a couple side dishes,” Draxum answered, “A bit of macaroni cheese and- oh. And a couple cans of creamed corn. I seem to recall that you had wanted that last time we all ate together.”

Splinter rolled his eyes. Honestly, who brought a dish that wasn’t already prepared and cooked? At least cooking creamed corn wouldn’t be too much trouble, and it was still a decent enough personal gesture, he supposed. “...It’s macaroni and cheese.”

The sheep man blinked. “That’s what I said.”

“No-no, you said macaroni cheese. It’s macaroni AND cheese.”

“What does it matter if there’s an ‘and’?” Draxum questioned, scowling a bit, “It’s all mixed together, isn’t it? The ‘and’ implies separation.”

“No it- ugh. It is just what it’s called, okay?” “But why? It doesn’t make sense!” “Look, I’m not the one who named it, why are you asking me-?”

“ _DAD!”_ The two men looked up towards the lair’s skylight. Three figures were crawling down, each of them with at least one or two limp limbs. They nearly fell a couple times before flopping down onto the second level.

“Boys!” Splinter shouted as he scampered over to them. 

Eyes widened a bit, Draxum set down his bag and climbed up to see the situation for himself. On closer inspection, he could see three of his four creations half covered with what looked like syringes.... or hunter’s darts. He clenched his fists a bit.

Splinter’s ears were flat, face serious as he looked at the sorry state of his sons, who were dazed and only half awake due to the tranquilizing darts they had received, but with eyes still filled with worry and concern. “He jus’ came outta nowhere,” Leo slurred, “You- you guys gotta save Raph. Now!”

Both Splinter and Draxum froze. “...Where’s Red?” Splinter asked them, “Where is he, where is your brother?”

“Ugh, de ebil dembist dook h’m,” Donnie mumbled, barely understandable due to a couple darts taken to the cheeks, “dook us by surbrise...”

Mikey whimpered a bit. “We- We tried to grab him but, once he shot us everything just slowed down, and...” Well, frankly they were lucky to make it back to the lair, even if they had to limp and drag themselves most of the way. “He said somethin’ about his snaggletooth? T-That he just had to have his teeth? W-We still tried to fight him, but-!” 

“Don’t worry,” Splinter said, patting his youngest’s head, “We will get him back. We just-”

“Where did they go?”

The family looked over at Draxum, nearly flinching at the fury in the warrior alchemist’s face, his orange eyes nearly glowing. “The human who took Raphael,” Draxum said slowly, his voice nearly trembling, “ _Where did he go?_ ”

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

It was really no wonder why Dr. Alex Noe had chosen to take his turtles by surprise, armed with weapons that could temporarily incapacitate any person - human or yokai. With his lack of any real strength and their training and ninjutsu skills, it was his only option.

So, perhaps it was ironic when he and Splinter used that very same strategy to catch the sorry excuse for a dentist off-guard, defeating him and his ‘tooth fairies’ within seconds. Just in time too, judging by the way Raph was prepped in the extra-large dentist chair and how close the man’s pliers had been to the teen snapper’s mouth.

Draxum had nearly strangled Noe when he saw that... But, he supposed beating the man to unconsciousness was a good enough revenge. Or rather, it was for now, at least. Not like he could do much at the moment...

Behind him, he could hear Splinter walking at a steady place, the bottoms of his feet lightly scraping the sidewalk. He hadn’t been expecting the old rat to offer to walk him back to his apartment, given all that his son had been through. After all, Raph had pretty much clung to Splinter’s tail during the walk home, still pretty shaken by the whole ordeal.

(Raph had mentioned something about being held in a dark van while the dentists prepared for him, and according to Splinter, the boy hated being alone in strange or unfamiliar places. ...Funny, a year or so ago, if Draxum had learned of one of his creations having a weakness as pathetic as that, he would have tried to correct it. Now, just knowing that some _human_ had exploited it nearly made his blood boil.)

“Hey,” a gruff voice said, bringing Draxum out of his dark thoughts. He glanced back at Splinter, who was lightly gesturing down a street. “I thought your place was this way?”

“...” Draxum silently changed direction, quickly taking the lead again. Splinter’s ears flattened themselves again, his tail twitching. The alchemist may have been silent, but it didn’t take a genius on Purple’s level to notice that quiet and calm on the outside didn’t exactly mean okay on the inside.

His other boys were already taking care of Red, having dragged their bedding to his room and promising not to leave him for the rest of the night. Splinter figured the least he could do was make sure that his sons did not have to break that promise...

The walk only took a few minutes more, thank goodness. Despite Draxum lightly arguing about it, Splinter followed him up stairs to the fourth level of the old building, its walls thin enough for him to hear the voices of all his human neighbors. His keys cut into the palm of his hand slightly as Draxum squeezed them.

Finally, he arrived at his door. Unlocking it, he stepped inside, his hooves heavy on the wood floor. Draxum had thought getting back to what had been his private sanctuary for the past several weeks (second only to his kitchen at the school) would calm him down... but if anything, it just made him angrier as it reminded him of his current situation.

On the run from his own kind that he had tried to help and protect, forced to live on the surface and hide any hint of himself whether it be his ears or his alchemy, and all because _they_ were still the dominant species up top. Because _they_ outnumbered yokai, and because they used weapons and hunted and destroyed and chased and considered any being different from them a monster or a target or a _prize to be hung on a damn wall-!_

Out of the corner of Draxum’s eye, he could notice a short figure staring at him, his apartment door still wide open. _“What?”_ Draxum snapped, glaring at the rat man. Splinter didn’t even flinch, his own expression unreadable. “I don’t need to be supervised!” he added, nearly summoning a vine. If the rat didn’t leave soon, he’d just make him leave.

Much to the sheep man’s annoyance, Splinter refused to cower, only giving a small ‘hmph’ at his claims. ‘You sure about that?’ he mentally snarked, briefly remembering. 

They had both fought without hesitation that night, but Splinter had seen something in Draxum’s eyes during the battle - something that was more than just anger and protectiveness, something he had seen in himself once upon a time during some of his more... intense battles - and wondered just how strong the truce he had formed with his youngest really was, or how much damage Draxum could do despite not yet having 100% of his power back.

Draxum was gritting his teeth now, impatient. “What do you _want_ from me,” he ordered.

“I just wanted to make sure that you were alright,” Splinter quietly told him.

The two stared at each other. A bitter laugh briefly bubbled in Draxum’s throat. “alright...? Alright?!” he asked, nearly screaming now, “How was ANY of this night alright?!”

His anger was getting to nearly be too much now, but as much as he felt like turning his apartment and everything around it to rubble, his emotions hadn’t quite overshadowed his logic (or his self-preservation) just yet. So instead, he grabbed the nearest object (the remote control to his ‘Tee-vee’ box) and hurled it at the wall. Watching it be destroyed on impact was briefly satisfying, if only slightly.

“Hey!” Splinter frowned, walking inside the apartment now, “That’s enough! Just-”

“No, do NOT-!” Draxum snapped, whirling back around to face him, “I _WILL NOT_ take orders from YOU!”

“I am not ordering you to do anything!”

The sheep man just scoffed. “No, but you were about to tell me to ‘calm down’, right?” Splinter said nothing. “Typical. How you - how ANY of you - can continue to defend humans like him is just beyond me!” 

He had briefly resigned to the fact that most humans were fairly harmless, like the teenagers he served lunch to or his fellow lunch-ladies and lunch-man that he had begun talking over the phone with after the Sloppy Joseph incident. But he shouldn’t have let his guard down. He should have known- “Deep down, you’re all still the same as you were 500 years ago!”

“I am not defending the damn dentist, Draxum,” Splinter shot back, gritting his teeth, “I am just as angry at him as you are!” His fists only clenched tighter when he remembered the expression of fear Raph - his Red - had on his face as he was strapped down. “And I can assure you,” the rat added, his voice lower now, “if he gets anywhere near my boys again, I can’t promise I’ll give him as much mercy, if any at all.”

If not for his blinding anger, Draxum might have been relieved at that - that Splinter didn’t completely put the lives of humans above his family. But instead, his temper only grew.

“If you had done what needed to be done-” what SHOULD have been done- “then there wouldn’t be a possibility of a next time.” Though, with all that Draxum had been reminded of that night, even that seemed like a lie or an impossible hope.

Splinter steeled his gaze, still not cowing to the sheep man’s anger. “There is a time and a place for revenge, Draxum,” he told him slowly, “and in that moment, all I cared about was getting Noe out of the way and getting my son out of there. Which was what _you_ should have cared about too.”

Draxum felt another flare of fury within him. How dare he! “Ohhh, here we go!” he shouted, throwing his hands up, “Obviously the Great Lou Jitsu is the hero here with no questions asked while Baron Draxum is evil, same as usual!”

Splinter groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “This is not about morality, Draxum!”

“Then what is it about?!”

“It is about CHOICE!” Splinter was walking towards him now, looking nearly as angry as Draxum was. “I did not care if my son’s kidnapper was human, mutant or yokai, it was and still is MY choice whether or not I want to take their life for it. MINE, not yours!”

“But why did you choose to spare him, Lou?” Draxum demanded, “Why choose to spare a man that was going to yank the teeth out of our son’s mouth just to put up on a wall?!”

Splinter stared him down, his voice eerily calm now. “Because I have enough blood on my hands, as is.”

“...” Draxum actually paused at that. He could still remember Lou’s Nexus days, both his early fights that were more spectacle than sport, as well as the later ones where his normally bright smile started to seem forced and, more often than not, he walked away with his signature jumpsuit covered in bright, wet stains...

“As I said, I will still do whatever I need to in order to protect my family, no matter what,” Splinter continued, “I will do whatever is necessary... So tell me, Draxum, do you _really_ truly think that killing a dentist, whose only weapons were an over-sized tooth scraper and some novocaine darts, would be necessary in order to send a proper message and keep him from causing my family anymore harm?”

“...No,” Draxum reluctantly answered, half turned away from the rat-man now.

“I thought so... and in that sense, I’d say it’d be as equally unnecessary for you to run off and finish the job,” Splinter continued, “Between the two of us, we did a good number on him. Heck, he may still be unconsc-”

 _“I know,_ ” Draxum snapped, sighing before grumbling on, “I know... It wouldn’t be worth the risk just to kill a human that couldn’t ever dream of going toe-to-toe in a fight with a yokai or even a mutant.” Just like with most humans from the surface, it’d be pointless to go after them. Despite their primitive yet powerful weapons, as long as they were alone or in small groups, they weren’t much of a threat. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know, Lou Jitsu...”

“...But?” Splinter asked curiously, even taking a moment to lean forward a bit to try and get a look at Draxum’s face.

Draxum scowled at him for his efforts. “But... just because we did what was necessary doesn’t mean justice was served. Though, I suppose you could never understand what it feels like... To know that there are humans out there who at best see you as a monster that needs to be feared and avoided, and at worst... see you and your features as prizes to be claimed and collected. Someone - some _thing_ to be hunted and destroyed, no questions asked.”

“...You’re right.”

“Do not try to defend them, they-” Draxum fell silent once again, turning slightly in order to look at Splinter properly now. “Wait, what?”

“I said, you are right. At least, you’re right that I don’t understand,” Splinter admitted. Even as a mutant himself, he would never fully understand. “I... was never told why yokai had to remain underground or hide in plain sight while above ground, but I figured there had to be a reason... And while I still cannot support genocide, as a former human myself, I can say... we can be pretty awful, at times.”

“...Hmph.” Draxum resisted the urge to bring his gaze back to the floor, forcing his eyes to stay locked with Splinter’s. “...I’m sure that there are plenty more humans like Noe out there who would be more than happy to pick up old human traditions, but I... I know there’s not a human alive today that remembers,” he admitted. Honestly, most yokai had probably forgotten too. 

The hunts that would sometimes happen if a human village expanded a bit too far into yokai territory, the rumors of humans gathering armies to eliminate them and the fears that came from that, and finally the great migration underground, as ordered by the Council of Heads. 

“But,” Draxum began, the heat of his anger and the pain from his memories still felt faintly within him even now, “as pointless as it may be to hold a grudge in this case... I can’t help but feel like that isn’t an excuse.” Not when yokai were still dealing with the consequences. Not when there had still been losses that couldn’t be fixed with a simple apology.

Surprisingly, Splinter’s expression stayed sympathetic. (Draxum was grateful that his expression wasn’t instead full of pity.) “You are allowed to still feel angry, you know. About what humans did, or how they were able to forget what their ancestors did,” he told him, “You have that right... and I am sure if I was in your shoe- er, hooves... I would maybe feel the same way.” 

Despite his youngest’s efforts and Draxum finding small things on the surface to like and enjoy, Splinter knew that there would most likely always be a small part of Draxum that would hate humans - and Splinter accepted that. As he had told him before, Splinter wasn’t here to focus on morality or to try and fit Draxum or himself into the standard idea of a ‘good guy hero’. He just hoped Michelangelo would eventually accept it as well.

“...” With nothing else new to add, Draxum released another, smaller sigh. The space between them was quiet now - still, though not awkward. Like a campfire that had been reduced to only cinders, all Draxum could really do was wait for the rest of the embers to burn out for the night. And, just like the moment they had shared a few weeks ago in a Hidden City dumpster, he couldn’t help but appreciate the gesture of Splinter taking the time to see his side. It wasn’t something Draxum was exactly used to, but appreciated nonetheless. 

“I’m... glad you understand,” he told him. Splinter hummed, giving a small nod in return. “Well, now that you have assured yourself that I’m not going to go after any humans tonight, I’m sure you’ll be heading back to your sewer home now.” As for himself, while he was certainly tired both physically and emotionally, Draxum wasn’t sure if he could sleep just yet.

A familiar feeling of powerlessness crept over him... He no longer had the power to mass-mutate humans and force them to see their side. He only had a small fraction of the strength and alchemy powers he used to have. He couldn’t - _wouldn’t_ \- go seeking mostly-pointless revenge against the dentist and his ‘tooth fairies’, nor would he go stirring up any other trouble. 

Unfortunately, his only option - a passive option that forced him to ‘play nice’ with humans and try to see their good side while trying to survive in a world that wasn’t his own - was still one that a part of him hated. It was the option that the Council had demanded he take when he tried to warn them of the prophecy, insisting that humans weren’t the great evil that they spoke of. ...Maybe they had been right about that, in the end.

In that sense, maybe he was a fool to still want to do something. Anything! But for now, all he could do was nothing.

...Luckily, he still had someone with him who was a master at doing nothing constructively. “You got any tea?”

“I- what?” Draxum blinked, the question bringing him out of his thoughts, “Uh, I think Michelangelo brought over a box of Oolong last week.”

Splinter chuckled. “That always was Orange’s favorite.” With that, he padded over to Draxum’s kitchenette and got to work. Too burnt out to really argue, Draxum sat down on his lumpy couch (he really would have to get some new furniture sometime soon. A nice armchair, at the very least) and watched as Splinter got the water boiling.

Soon, the grassy smell of the tea began to fill the small apartment. Splinter carefully brought over two cups, and they simply sat and drank. Occasionally, one of them would say something or they’d have a short conversation, but mostly they just sat... and drank... and enjoyed each other’s company.

Catching a peek between the old, holey curtains of one of Draxum’s windows, Splinter could see the sky begin to shift from black to a purplish-pink. He gave a small yawn. 

“...How do you guys have a sky down there?” he asked, not bothering to specify what they both knew he was referring, “I have always wondered that. I mean... there are always these patches of colors that sort of shift around depending on where you are or what time it is, but... how is there a sky? It’s underground, there isn’t even a sun!”

Draxum glanced over at him. “...Magic,” he stated bluntly.

Splinter snorted. “That simple, huh?”

“No, but I don’t feel like explaining it.”

“Fair enough. Just know I will probably bug you about it later.”

“Fine. In that case, you can be the one to explain it to anyone else who asks.”

“Deal.”

Satisfied, Draxum finished up the last of his second cup of tea before glancing at the window himself, the previous night feeling like it was ages ago. The feelings were still there, of course - he was sure they always would be there, too - but Draxum could deal with them. And maybe, on the rare occasion... he could even be willing to _discuss_ his feelings. (Ugh... Well, he was sure ‘Dr. Feelings’ would be pleased with that, at least...)

A ghost of a smile remained on his face as Draxum leaned back, tired eyes half closed. He had to admit, if only to himself, that even if they didn’t take the form they had expected them to and even when they refused to obey and often argued with him, it was... nice to have allies that still gave him some support in the things that mattered most to him. It was nice to have... a family. 

Before it became too bright out to safely travel without disguises, Splinter casually invited Draxum to join them for breakfast, if only to make up for the fact that last night’s... situation had ruined their shared supper. He also added that Raph would most likely happy to see them _both_ safe and sound.

As such, Draxum only half-heartedly refused twice before following the father of his turtles out his apartment door, insisting that they stop to swipe some breakfast pastries from a corner store on the way.

**THE END**


End file.
